15th Infantry Division (15. Infanterie-Division) - Wehrmacht Infantry Division (1934-1945).
| 15th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 15. Infanterie-Division | |
|---|---|
 Truppenkennzeichen | |
| Years of existence | October 1, 1934 - September 5, 1944 October 17, 1944 - May 5, 1945 |
| A country |  Germany |
| Included in | |
| Type of | infantry division |
| Number | division |
| Dislocation | Wurzburg |
| Nickname | bavarian |
| Participation in | Vyazemsky operation Battle for Moscow Battle of Rzhev Iasi-Chisinau operation |
Content
History
The 15th Infantry Division ( German 15. Infanterie-Division ) was formed on October 1, 1934 in Würzburg under the name 5th Artillery Command ( German Artillerieführer V ). With the announcement of the rearmament of Germany , the division was renamed on October 15, 1935. The division was mobilized as a unit of the formation of the first wave on August 25, 1939 and after that it was used to protect the western border in Saarland . Here she participated in battles during the Saarland offensive operation . In the French campaign in May 1940, the division, as part of Army Group A , passed through Luxembourg and Belgium to France and crossed the river in early June. Ena . This was followed by several battles on the river. Vel , p. Marne and r. About The division reached Nevers on the Loire . By 1941, the division, as part of the occupation forces, was stationed in Dijon . On November 21, 1940, one third of its composition was used to form the 113th Infantry Division .
In July 1941, transferred to the Eastern Front and subordinated to Army Group Center . First took part in the battles for Mogilev .
July 29, 1941 against the 15th Bavarian division are fighting parts of the 144th enemy division , which are fixed on the line Smugulino - Porfilovo.
She suffered losses in offensive and defensive battles in Yelnya , and then in the Vyazemsky operation . She took part in the Battle of Moscow . Then, at the beginning of 1942, he participated in the Battle of Rzhev . After heavy casualties that the division suffered, it was sent to replenish and rest in France.
In February 1943, the division was transferred back to the Eastern Front and took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov , in particular, defended Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoy Rog . The division was practically destroyed in August 1944 during the Iasi-Chisinau operation . In October 1944, it was re-formed in Hungary , it included the remains of the old unit and recruits. On May 5, 1945, the division surrendered to the Red Army in Prague .
Subordination and Areas of Action
| date | Body | Army | Army Group | Action area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September / October 1939 | XII. | 1st Army | WITH | Saarpfalz |
| December 1939 | without case | 16th army | BUT | |
| January-May 1940 | Trier , Luxembourg , Belgium | |||
| June 1940 | VI. | 2nd army | France | |
| July-August 1940 | Xxvii. | 12th army | C | |
| September-October 1940 | 1st Army | |||
| November 1940 - June 1941 | D | |||
| July 1941 | Xxxv. | at the disposal of the OKH | Centre | Minsk , Mogilev |
| August 1941 | XXXXVI. | 2nd tank group | Smolensk | |
| September 1941 | IX. | 4th Army | Yelnya | |
| October 1941 | XX. | Vyazma | ||
| November-December 1941 | XII. | Moscow | ||
| January 1942 | XX. | Yukhnov | ||
| February 1942 | 4th Panzer Army | Gzhatsk , Rzhev | ||
| March 1942 | VII. | |||
| April 1942 | V. | |||
| May 1942 | without case | 7th Army | D | France |
| June 1942 - February 1943 | LXXX. | 1st Army | ||
| March 1943 | LVII. | 4th Panzer Army | South | Kharkov |
| April-September 1943 | 1st Panzer Army | Seversky Donets , Raisins | ||
| October-November 1943 | XXX | Krivoy Rog | ||
| December 1943 | LVII. | |||
| January 1944 | XXX | 6th army | ||
| February 1944 | LVII. | |||
| March 1944 | Xxix. | A | Uman | |
| April-August 1944 | XXX | Southern Ukraine | Kishinev | |
| October 1944 | second formation | 8th Army | South | Northern Hungary |
| November 1944 | without case | |||
| December 1944 | Xxix. | |||
| January-March 1945 | Slovakia , Tatras | |||
| April 1945 | 1st Panzer Army | Centre | Zilina | |
| May 1945 | Xxiv. | Moravia |
Structure
| 1939 | 1942 | 1943-1945 |
|---|---|---|
| 81st Infantry Regiment | 81st Grenadier Regiment | |
| 88th Infantry Regiment | 88th Grenadier Regiment | |
| 106th Infantry Regiment | 106th Grenadier Regiment | |
| 15th reconnaissance battalion | 15th Scooter Battalion | 15th Fusilier Battalion |
| 15th artillery regiment | ||
| 15th Air Force Battalion [1] | - | |
| 15th anti-tank battalion | 15th tank destroyer battalion | |
| 15th combat engineer battalion | ||
| 15th battalion of communications | ||
| 15th reserve battalion | ||
| 15th part of supply | ||
Guide
Commanders
| Period | Rank | Name |
|---|---|---|
| October 15, 1935 - March 31, 1936 | Lieutenant general | Friedrich Wilhelm Brandt |
| April 1, 1936 - April 1, 1939 | Lieutenant general | Emil Leeb |
| April 1 - October 6, 1939 | Lieutenant general | Walter Beshnitt |
| October 6, 1939 - August 12, 1940 | Lieutenant general | Friedrich Wilhelm von Happius |
| August 12, 1940 - January 8, 1942 | Lieutenant general | Ernst Hell |
| January 8-11, 1942 | Colonel | Alfred Schreiber |
| January 11-23, 1942 | Major general | Bronislav Pavel |
| January 23 - February 3, 1942 | Major general | Alfred Schreiber |
| February 3 - June 18, 1942 | Major general | Bronislav Pavel |
| June 18, 1942 - November 20, 1943 | Lieutenant general | Erich Buschenhagen |
| November 20, 1943 - August 1944 | Major general | Rudolph Sperl |
| August 14 - September 5, 1944 [2] | Major general | Ottomar Babel |
| October 17, 1944 - May 8, 1945 | Major general | Hanns Langenfelder |
General Staff Representatives
| Period | Rank | Name |
|---|---|---|
| October 15, 1935 - April 1, 1937 | Lieutenant colonel | Anton Dostler |
| April 1, 1937-1939 | - | is unknown |
| 1939 - February 1940 | Lieutenant colonel | Hans Otfried von Linstov |
| February 1940 - January 15, 1941 | Major | Werner Rank |
| January 15, 1941 - January 14, 1942 | Lieutenant colonel | Karl Richard Cosmann |
| January 14, 1942 - March 30, 1944 | Lieutenant colonel | Wilhelm Willemer-Breusen |
| March 30 - August 24, 1944 | Lieutenant colonel | Harald Helms |
| October 5-15, 1944 | Lieutenant colonel | Wilfred von Zobbe |
| October 15, 1944-1945 | Lieutenant colonel | Fritz Borrmann |
Division Awards
A total of 29 soldiers of the 15th Infantry Division were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and 56 the German Cross in gold .
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (29)
- Josef Lang, 07/04/1940 - sergeant major, commander of the assault group of the 2nd company of the 15th combat engineer battalion
- Hans Möller, 08/15/1940 - Senior Lieutenant, orderly of the 15th Infantry Division
- Friedrich-Wilhelm von Happius, 08/15/1940 - Lieutenant General, commander of the 15th Infantry Division
- Joseph Gollas, 11/18/1941 - sergeant major, platoon commander of the 6th company of the 106th infantry regiment
- Gustav-Adolf von Tsangen , 01/15/1942 - Colonel, commander of the 88th Infantry Regiment
- Wilhelm Berens, 03/27/1942 - Colonel, commander of the 106th Infantry Regiment
- Joseph Schüssler, 06/14/1943 - sergeant major, platoon commander of the 5th company of the 106th grenadier regiment
- Hanns Langenfelder, 10/21/1943 - Oberstleutenant, commander of the 106th Grenadier Regiment
- Erich Buschenhagen , 12/05/1943 - Lieutenant General, commander of the 15th Infantry Division
- Helmut Weyrauh, 12/07/1943 - reserve lieutenant, commander of the 4th (machine-gun) company of the 81st grenadier regiment
- Otto Laudenbach, 12/14/1943 - Major, commander of the 3rd battalion of the 88th Grenadier Regiment
- Hubert Fleckenstein, 01/31/1944 - sergeant major, platoon commander of the staff company of the 106th Grenadier Regiment
- Helmut Lambach, 03/06/1944 - reserve lieutenant, commander of the 11th company of the 88th grenadier regiment
- August Humke, 05/04/1944 - Wachmister, platoon commander of the 4th company of the 15th fusilier battalion
- Walter Schindler, 05/04/1944 - reserve captain, commander of the 3rd battalion of the 106th grenadier regiment
- Herbert Proll, 06/09/1944 - Captain, commander of the 1st battalion of the 106th Grenadier Regiment
- Anton-Otto Frank, 06/26/1944 - Captain, commander of the 1st company of the 15th anti-tank battalion
- Wolf Wendt, 08/12/1944 - Captain, adjutant of the 88th Grenadier Regiment
- Max Krause, 11/18/1944 - Major, commander of the 106th Grenadier Regiment
- Karl Kun, 11/26/1944 - Captain, commander of the Kun battle group (remnants of the 81st Grenadier Regiment)
- Kurt Kittel, 11.29.1944 - Chief Corporal, Mortar Commander of the 5th Company of the 88th Grenadier Regiment
- Fritz Engelin, 12/18/1944 - Major, commander of the 15th Fusilier Battalion
- Anton Ritter, 12.24.1944 - lieutenant of the reserve, commander of the 3rd company of the 88th grenadier regiment
- Kersten Freicherr von Rosen, 12/26/1944 - Oberstleutenant, commander of the 88th Grenadier Regiment
- Heinz Bundesmann, 01/14/1945 - reserve lieutenant, commander of the 3rd company of the 88th grenadier regiment
- Robert Bauer, 03/11/1945 - Major, commander of the battle group of the 15th Infantry Division
- Friedrich Stellvagen, 03/17/1945 - captain, commander of the 2nd battalion of the 106th grenadier regiment
- Otto Wutzel, 04/14/1945 - captain, commander of the 1st battalion of the 81st grenadier regiment
- Leander Reinbacher, 04/30/1945 - reserve lieutenant, commander of the 1st company of the 81st grenadier regiment
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Hanns Langenfelder (No. 856), 04/30/1945 - Major General, commander of the 15th Infantry Division
See also
- List of divisions of the Third Reich
- The alignment of forces in Operation Barbarossa
Notes
- ↑ Until December 1939
- ↑ Missing
Literature
- Georg Tessin: Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945. Band 4. Die Landstreitkräfte 15-30. 2. Auflage. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1976, ISBN 3-7648-1083-1 .
- Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, Friedburg 2000, ISBN 3-7909-0284-5 , S. 85.
Links
- 15.Infanterie-Division . Archived March 22, 2012.
- Heer Units Archived March 22, 2012.
- Photo album of a soldier of the 15th Infantry Division . www.photo-war.com . Date of treatment January 11, 2019. Pictures taken in France and on the Eastern Front, 1940-1943.